Ghost Ship of Ogunquit

Wooden ships on the water, very free and easy,

Easy, you know the way it's supposed to be,

Silver people on the shoreline, let us be,

Talkin' 'bout very free and easy...

-Crosby, Stills and Kantner

 

In the early the late 1980's and early 1990's, we use to see the remnants a shallop or schooner that use to appear during low tide on Ogunquit beach. The hull would  mysteriously appear above the sand as the tide would retreat back the sea as sunbathers and beachcombers roamed the beach. The remains were buried deep in the sand about 200 meters north of the main beach at "section G".

We use to call it a ghost ship, even though it's actually a shipwreck. It's still buried in the sand, and depending on the year and the weather determines if we will see this Ghost ship. 

                                                                             (Photo from the 1980's)

       

100 years ago, before automobiles came to Ogunquit. Ships and schooners would drop-off provisions from away places like Boston or beyond. The ships would then be filled with goods from Maine for the return trip (firewood for Boston was one common commodity). The ships would dock at Wharf Lane at high tide. As you walk on Wharf Lane and then across the little wooden bridge you can see the pilings from the old docks. Many of the buildings on Wharf lane and Shore Road were store houses for these goods that would be carried  by sea. 

                   

Dories and Schooners on Wharf Lane. The bridge in the background is the bridge to the beach,

So next time you are walking on Ogunquit Beach, take the time to search for the ships that were lost at sea...

                             (Photo courtesy of Rick Barber)  

Wooden path bridge from Wharf Lane to Beach Street.